


Together At Last

by AwkwardJello



Category: Feverwake - Victoria Lee
Genre: Forehead Kisses, Hospital Visit, M/M, TEH spoilers, angst that turns to fluff, dara talking to noam while he's asleep, my bois finally got their happy ending let them cry about it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-02
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:54:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24499762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwkwardJello/pseuds/AwkwardJello
Summary: Dara visits Noam at the hospital after the incident at Duke Chapel.
Relationships: Dara Shirazi/Noam Alvaro
Comments: 7
Kudos: 44





	Together At Last

**Author's Note:**

> Going through some personal shit right now, so I channeled my sadness into this part-angst fic. The amount of times I listened to Katy Perry's "Unconditionally" while writing this fic...(I literally think of Noam and Dara everytime I listen to that song-)

It had been eight days since Lehrer’s speech at Duke Chapel. Eight days since the fever finally overtook Noam’s body and almost his life. 

The first thing Dara noticed was how  _ still  _ he was. Like a pale corpse that was waiting to begin its eternal slumber once it was lowered into the ground. It was unnerving to imagine that brilliant flame in Noam’s mind gone extinguished, replaced by a cold, empty void. No, Noam was still alive. Unconscious, but alive. Dara refused to see him as anything but. He couldn’t bear visualizing the alternative.

The second thing Dara noticed was the IV Noam was hooked to. It gave him flashbacks of when  _ he  _ was the one who had the needle injected into his arm, when  _ Noam _ was the one who had to rescue him from Lehrer’s black, oily grasp. Perhaps to an outsider, it would have been almost amusing, seeing how the tables had turned.

Dara pulled up a chair as he approached the hospital bed. He sat at the head of the bed, peering down at Noam’s motionless form. Already he was getting déjà vu. Noam’s battered body sitting in the car. His screams of agony when Dara tried to pull him out. Dara shoved the memory to the back of his mind.  _ Don’t think about the past.  _ When Noam still didn’t stir, he reached out and interlaced their fingers. 

“Hi, Noam,” Dara whispered softly. His only answer was the continued inhale and exhale of Noam’s breath. He knew it was pointless. Of course his greeting would go unanswered, but a tiny part of him hoped that Noam was still listening.

Dara watched the slow rise and fall of Noam’s chest. Up. Down. Up. Down. “It’s been eight days since Duke Chapel, in case you were wondering. They’re looking into the incident as we speak.” Dara lost count of how many times he was pulled aside for investigations in the past week. The constant onslaught of questions was driving him crazy.  _ Why were you trying to kill your father? Where were you for the past six months? How did you even get involved with these terrorists? _ Dara was sick of repeating himself over and over, and he knew once his visiting time was up, he  would need to go through that same ordeal again. For now, though, he had a moment of peace and quiet to himself.

But Dara wasn’t about to complain about pointless interviews and judgemental speculation. He could care less what the public thought of him. He stopped caring a long time ago. Right now, all he wanted was to be at Noam’s side, even if he wasn’t able to hear Noam’s voice.

“Do you remember that night? When you talked about starting a new life together? And you mentioned getting a dog?” Dara let out a mirthless laugh. “Well, Wolf is probably gonna need someone to feed and take care of him, now that--” He paused. He didn’t dare say his name, knowing that  _ he  _ was here in this very same hospital. The thought of  _ him _ being so close made the hairs on the back of Dara’s neck stand up. “Anyway, when you get out of here, we’ll both get a job. Well, actually, it’s probably just me who needs one. You already work at the convenience store and the Migrant Center.” 

Silence. Dara pressed his lips to Noam’s knuckles, the way Noam did back when they were hiding out in the abandoned house, waiting for the next day when they would carry out their final attempt at taking Lehrer down. “We could finally get that house, and then you could move in with me.” 

Get job, earn money, buy house. It was such a simple plan. Something that a  _ normal _ person would think up. And then it hit Dara. It was happening. They were finally going to have their new, ordinary life, something that had seemed so impossible to obtain in all of Dara’s previous years. Suddenly, the future didn’t seem quite so foreboding anymore. At one point, Dara would’ve done anything to avoid it. But now, he was ready to embrace it.

He smiled fondly at Noam. His stupid, reckless Noam. His brave, stubborn Noam. His selfless, kind Noam. “You’ve done a lot for Carolinia, and for me. You can rest now.” He leaned over and kissed Noam’s forehead. “Take your time, love. I’ll be waiting.” 

Dara jumped when Noam shifted from side to side. His eyes slowly fluttered open, and for a moment, the two stared at each other. Then Noam’s face split into a tired grin. “Dara.”

Dara could hear his heart thumping in his chest.  _ He’s awake. He’s alive. He’s okay.  _ Dara wanted to leap into his arms and sprinkle his sweet face with kisses, but he restrained himself. Noam might still be in shock. So instead, Dara squeezed Noam’s hand. “Noam,” he breathed.

Noam’s brown eyes shifted to the equipment around the room, and Dara saw his smile falter. He knew what that look meant. After days of suppressants and steroids, the magic that usually flickered at Noam’s fingertips was gone. Dara understood the feeling all too well. The hollow emptiness. The dead silence. The itchiness at the back of his mind that told him something was missing.

“So,”---Noam said--- “I’m not a technopath anymore.” He chuckled. “I forgot what it’s like. To not have magic.”

“Yeah,” Dara agreed. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.”

Noam nodded. “Mmm.” He opened his mouth, then closed it. Bit his lip, like he was nervous about what he was planning to say next. “So, I’ve been out for a while. I’m assuming that since you’re still alive”---Dara laughed--- “that… we…” He trailed off, holding his breath in anticipation.

Dara smiled, and rubbed circles into the back of Noam’s palm. “Yes.” Noam released an audible exhale. “We won, Noam. We’re free now.”

They stared deep into each other’s eyes for a long time. Noam’s bottom lip was trembling, the realization having sunk in. “We’re free,” he repeated softly, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. Dara reached out and gently wiped them, unaware of the ones welling up in his own eyes. “You have some too, y’know.” 

Dara chuckled. “I do?” he responded, his voice unexpectedly cracking. Noam’s eyes softened. He reached up with his own hand to cup Dara’s cheek. Dara placed his hand over Noam’s, and leaned into his touch. "You're going to be okay," he reassured Noam. " _We're_ going to be okay."

Dara didn’t need telepathy to know that in that moment, Noam loved him. And he would be lying if he said he didn’t feel the same way too.

“So… how long are you here for?” Noam asked, not removing his hand. From the hesitant pleading look in his eyes, what he really meant was “Please stay here, with me.” Dara already knew his answer.

He leaned forward, and pressed their lips together. Noam let out a surprised “mmf,” before eagerly kissing him back. His lips were warm and soft, just the way Dara liked them. He broke the kiss, though he still kept their foreheads touching. “For as long as I can get.”

Noam gave him one of those wide grins that never failed to make Dara’s heart squeeze, and pulled him down for another kiss.

This was the start of their new life. Their new, happy future.

**Author's Note:**

> me, sobbing after reading the ending of TEH for the bajillionth time: YES! you go GET that happy ending! you babies deserve it!!!


End file.
